76% of companies globally suffered service downtime in the past year
Outages caused by cyberattacks and server or network hacks can result in corrupted, damaged, or stolen data. Downtime can quickly convert into negative customer reviews and a ruined business image. Repeated outages can lead to dissatisfied customers.
According to the data presented by the Atlas VPN team, 76% of companies globally suffered service downtime in the past year. System crashes, human errors, and cyberattacks were the primary causes of downtime. In addition, many IT managers are concerned about increasing politically-driven cyberattacks.
The data is based on the Acronis Cyber Protection Week Global Report 2022. The research surveyed 6,200 IT managers and users worldwide in March 2022 to examine their approaches and experiences with today’s cyber protection solutions and cyberthreats landscape.
IT managers named system crashes the top reason for company downtime, as 52% had to deal with this issue. A system crash occurs when a computer program such as a software application or an operating system stops functioning correctly and quits. Crashes can be caused by malicious software, too little available memory, or overheating.
Following up, 42.3% of IT managers identified human error as the cause of company downtime. Some employees might disregard even the basic security measures and click on a malicious link. Fatigue or poor training could cause a human error, ultimately turning into a cyberattack and significant trouble for the company.
As for cyberattacks, they were the cause of company downtime for 36% of IT managers. Cyberattacks are launched at enterprises cyberspace to disrupt, disable or control the computing environment. Cybercriminals target businesses with many different attacks, such as ransomware, phishing, or DDoS.
Insider attacks accounted for 20.2% of companies suffering downtime in the past year. Such threats come from former or current employees and business associates who have inside information regarding the company's data. A person with access to sensitive information or privileged accounts can reveal an organization’s security practices.
Lastly, 19.4% of companies did not experience downtime for any of the reasons mentioned above. At the same time, 4.9% of IT managers were unsure of the reasons for downtime.
Politically driven cyberattacks
Politically motivated cyber-attacks have consequences. Most wealthy countries rely heavily on their information infrastructure. An attack of this type might have disastrous repercussions, and governments take it very seriously.
IT managers are getting more worried about politically-driven cyberattacks, as 45% expressed major concern. Furthermore, 41% of IT managers are moderately concerned about politically driven cyberattacks. The United States government officials have warned businesses about potential cyberattacks coming from Russia.
However, about 14% of IT managers are not very concerned or not concerned at all about the increase of politically-driven cyberattacks. Such an attitude can be dangerous, as cybercriminals do not choose their victims. Even a small or medium-sized enterprise (SME) could become a cyberattack victim.
More often, attacks on larger businesses, such as SolarWinds or Colonial Pipeline, end up in the news headlines. However, cyberattacks on SMEs are just as often, as they also store large volumes of sensitive customer information. Personal information is helpful to any cybercriminal looking for potential future targets.
A successful attack might have devastating effects on a company. Following alarming large-scale cyberattacks in 2021, organizations must respond proactively to the increasing risks. Many countries have already increased their cybersecurity budgets to combat cyber threats, and corporations should do the same.
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